BC-AP--Europe News Digest, AP

November 18, 2014

TOP STORIES FROM EUROPE AT 1200 GMT

UKRAINE

KIEV, Ukraine —Germany’s foreign minister urges the Ukrainian government and pro-Russian separatists to respect their cease-fire agreement, which has helped to halt ground combat but failed to stop daily artillery exchanges. Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who is shuttling between Kiev and Moscow in a bid to ease tensions, says both sides should stick to the Minsk accords however imperfect they are. SENT: 300 words, photos.

EUROPE-OLIVE CROP CALAMITY

BEJA, Portugal — If your favorite bottle of Mediterranean olive oil starts costing more, blame unseasonable European weather — and tiny insects. High spring temperatures, a cool summer and abundant rain are taking a big bite out of the olive harvest in some key regions of Italy, Spain, France and Portugal. Those conditions have also helped the proliferation of the olive fly and olive moth, which are calamitous blights. By Barry Hatton. SENT: 870 words, photos.

ROMANIA-ELECTIONS

BUCHAREST, Romania — Romania’s foreign minister has resigned after barely a week in office after thousands of citizens overseas were unable to vote in this weekend’s presidential elections. Teodor Melescanu stepped down Tuesday following the weekend’s runoff vote. His predecessor resigned last week after similar problems with the first-round vote. SENT: 140 words.

NETHERLANDS-RACISM

THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Dutch football authorities are calling for a criminal investigation into racist comments after Netherlands midfielder Leroy Fer posted a photo of himself and eight teammates online. Fer posted the picture, which appears to have been taken by striker Memphis Depay, on Twitter. Both Fer and Depay are black, as are several of their teammates. SENT: 130 words, photos.

GERMANY-CHILD PORN

BERLIN — A German court has approved charges against a prominent former lawmaker accused of possessing child pornography, setting a trial date for early next year. The Verden state court said Tuesday there was enough evidence to proceed with the case against Sebastian Edathy, a member of the center-left junior party in Germany’s government, the dpa news agency reported. He’s accused of downloading pornographic photos of children and videos on his parliamentary laptop last November, and also possessing “youth pornography.”

GERMANY-ECONOMY

BERLIN — A closely watched survey shows German investors’ confidence in the economy has recovered somewhat following a 10-month decline. SENT: 140 words.

BRITAIN-ECONOMY

LONDON — The rate of inflation in Britain has edged up slightly to 1.3 percent in October, but remains well below the Bank of England’s target of 2 percent for the 11th month in a row. SENT: 130 words.